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Abukar entered the pre-draft camp with a reputation for have talent, but struggling to apply it to a game setting on a consistent basis. This concern appears to have carried over to this setting, as he struggled to repeat his strong performance from yesterday.

Abukar scored all of his 6 points on spot up jumpers today, while showing good mechanics and a high release point. The problem here is that Abukar becomes overconfident in his jumper, and starts trying to force up contested jumpers. The lack of ball handling further compounds the problem in this area. For all of the field goal attempts for Abukar during this camp, it is hard to recall one time where he successfully took the ball to the basket. Mohamed Abukars limitations will likely keep him from playing in the NBA, but his shooting ability will allow him to play professional basketball elsewhere.

Another of the more notable performances from day two was the excellent and quite unexpected showing that Mohamed Abukar had, leading the entire game with 16 points in 21 minutes. Abukar did an excellent job sticking to what he does best, coming off screens to knock down a number of shots from the college 3-point line, leaking out in transition for an uncontested layup, and getting on the offensive glass using his height and athleticism to get some easy points. He even put the ball on the floor on a couple of occasions to draw a foul or finish with a floater off one dribble. His perimeter defense was a little shaky at times, but he did make up for that to a certain extent by hitting the glass fairly well. Another performance like this might convince a team that he could be a potentially nice weapon to bring off the bench to space the floor.

After a pretty poor showing yesterday, scoring 8 points on 3-9 shooting in a 40 point blowout loss, Abukar bounced back and had a much better game today. While yesterday he was almost strictly looking for tough, off-balance fade-away jumpers, today he did a better job setting his feet and shoulders and using his tremendous size and shooting mechanics to get his shot off effortlessly, mostly with good results. He showed what his role could be at the next level, coming off curls, spotting up on the wing, and knocking down a good amount of shots from mid-range or close to the 3-point line. The most impressive play he made came in transition, where he showed nice body control and athleticism stopping on a dime on a pass he received about 8 feet away from the basket and knocking down a very soft looking shot.

Abukar is a semi-interesting prospect due to his size (6-10), athleticism, and excellent shooting mechanics. Some might compare him to James Jones in the role he could potentially play in the NBA. The problem is that he doesnt rebound or defend the way you would hope a player his size could, boxing out poorly, getting outhustled in the paint, and not being very assertive helping out on rotations and such, even if his body is much improved from his Florida days. Hes also a pretty poor ball-handler, getting exposed every time he decides to put the ball on the floor for more than one or two short dribbles. Abukar hasnt been much of a difference maker in his teams two losses so far, but he still has one more chance to redeem himself.

If there's one thing that should console San Diego State fans after such a heartbreaking loss to an Indiana squad that they appeared to have on the ropes before coming apart at the seams towards the end, it's the team they return next season. Juniors Brandon Heath and Marcus Slaughter still both appear to be hopelessly caught between positions and nowhere near ready to enter the NBA draft, while fellow junior Mohamed Abukar is still an unknown quantity for NBA scouts and clearly needs his senior year as well. All 3 should be expected back for their senior years to continue to work on a defined NBA position and take care of some unfinished business in the NCAA tournament.

What can be taken away from this game, though, is the fact that Abukar particularly appears to be poised to break out as a star in his final year at SDSU. He gave the Hoosiers all they could handle in this game, showing an extremely intriguing arsenal of offensive skills from both inside the paint as well as from beyond the arc, and finally being willing to use those skills consistently for an entire game. The timid player NCAA fans might remember from his first two years as a Florida Gator appears to have matured into a man during his redshirt year, putting plenty of weight onto his promising frame, being more willing to do the dirty work that he never seemed capable of doing under Billy Donovan and still showing the type of athleticism in a 6-10 frame that has to get NBA scouts excited about his potential as a player.

Abukar was indeed the key to the Aztecs even making the NCAA tournament, helping his team win 15 of their last 19 games after sitting out the fall semester because of transfer rules, while averaging over 15 points a game in conference play.

A player with his size, skills and athleticism is always going to get plenty of looks from NBA scouts, and considering the fact that SDSU should return all their players from a team with no seniors to be found on the roster, there is a lot of talent to look forward to in 2006-2007 for Aztec fans.